Dusting tool



J. J. MURPHY Oct. 9, 1962 DUSTING TOOL INVENTOR JIM Jfl/VAP/Y) B MawATTORNEY 2 SheetsSheet l Filed Sept. 18, 1957 Oct. 9, 1962 J. J. MURPHYDUSTING TOOL Filed Sept. 18, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ENTOR Jami-'6 Mam /n452 i wa ATTO R N EY United States Patent 3,956,989 DUSTING T901.

James 35. Murphy, Stamford, Conn, assignor to Chicopee ManufacturingCorporation, a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Sept. 18, 1957. Ser.No. 685,364 Claims. (Cl. -231) This invention relates to a cleaningtool, and more particularly concerns a floor dusting tool for use withflexible dusting means such as a wiping cloth or dust cloth for example.The cleaning tool of this invention is particularly advantageous for usein connection with flexible dusting cloths which have been treated withdust and soil absorbent substances such as mineral oil or the like.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending applicationSerial No. 529,105, filed in the United States Patent Oflice on August18, 1955. This application since has been abandoned.

It is an object of this invention to provide a convenient economicaltool for cleaning or dusting a soiled surface. It is another object toprovide a tool for use with a readily adjustable and readily detachablewiping cloth which is easy to manipulate in use. Still another object isto provide a tool of this character having means for maintaining adusting or cleaning cloth firmly in fixed position on the working headof the tool but wherein a soiled portion of the cloth may be replacedquickly and easily by a clean portion of the cloth. Other objects ofthis invention are to provide a dusting and cleaning tool of thischaracter wherein the cloth is retained on the tool without piercing orotherwise damaging the cloth, and wherein, incidental to the mere use ofthe tool, the cloth is held firmly against the surface being cleaned.Still another object is to provide efficient cleaning means for surfacesthat are rough or uneven.

Other objects and advantages of the invention, including the simplicityand economy of the same, will appear in further detail hereinafter andin the drawings whereof:

FIGURE 1 represents a fragmentary top plan View of one embodiment of theinvention with certain parts broken away for the sake of clarity.

FIG. 2 is a similar bottom plan view of the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view, partly in section and partly in elevation, along theline 1111 of FIG. 1, showing a cleaning cloth in position for use;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view similar to FIG. 3 showing the installation ofa cloth on the tool of this device;

FIG. 5 represents a schematic fragmentary top plan view of a differentembodiment of a device according to this invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic isometric view of the device of FIG. 5, showing adusting cloth before and after installation thereon;

FIG. 7 is a somewhat enlarged isometric and sectional view of a cut-awayportion of the tool of FIG. 5, showing the way in which a dusting clothmay be tucked inside the flanged boot of this figure;

FIG. 8 is a view, similar to FIG. 7, showing a somewhat differentembodiment of a device according to the invention;

FIG. 9 is an isometric and sectional view of the same portion of thedevice of FIG. 8 with certain parts removed for the sake of clarity.

Turning now to the specific embodiments of the invention shown in thedrawings, the cleaning tool comprises generally a head member to whichis attached a universal joint 21 which in turn is connected to a handle22.

The head member 20 includes a frame 53 formed of hollow tubing of alight, tough material such as an aluminum alloy. The frame 53 issubstantially rectangular in form. Affixed to the frame by means ofupwardly extending bead 24 is a pan 25 which is preferably constructedof a suitable metal. The universal joint 21 is affixed to the pan 25through the plate 27 which is suitably attached to the joint 21 andscrewed to the pan 25.

Attached to the upper face of pan 25 is a threading rack 43 whichcomprises duplicate threading rods 46 located, one at each side of thepan; The rack 43.continues across the ends of pan 25 under a hingeattachment 47 applied at each end of the pan along its lengthwise centerline.

The flexible attachment of rack 43 to pan 25 in the manner shown inFIGS. 14 facilitates the insertion of the ends ofa dusting cloth 52under the threading rods 46, first on one side and then on the other byvirtue of the fact that rack 43 can be tilted about the longitudinalaxis of pan 25. This tilting arrangement also minimizes interferencebetween rack 43 and the handle assembly, including universal joint 21,when cleaning under low objects because should contact occur betweenrack 43 and the handle assembly, the rack tilts or pivots about hinges47 to comply with the position the handle assembly is placed by theuser.

Referring to FruS. 1-4, there is shown a resilient boot 51 fitting overthe pan 25 and a novel method of installing a cleaning cloth 52 on thethreading rack 43. The resilient boot, which in this embodimentpreferably consists of a vinyl sponge material covered with a relativelyabrasion resistant noncellular vinyl outer skin, presents a rectangularbottom surface having substantially squared corners 54. The bottomsurface of the boot comprises a multiplicity of nubs or projections 55closely spaced in more or less staggered relation to one another. Deepercuts or discontinuous grooves 56 separate the projections from oneanother in a longitudinal direction. The cuts 56 are slightly inclinedto the ends of the tool and substantially parallel to one another ineach of the longitudinally extending rows or courses of projections 55.In the bottom surfaces of the larger projections near the center of thetool are inclined slits 57 which may give the projections greaterextendability. Adjacent the borders of the tool are somewhat rectangularprojections 58 which are regularly spaced from one another and more orless aligned with the adjacent edge of the tool to provide asubstantial-1y straight, yet interrupted, ridge of projections alongeach edge of the tool. The relieved area 59 surrounding the projections58 in the ridge may be roughly at the same level as the bottom of thedeeper grooves 56 between the projections 55. Thus, between theaforesaid projections 55 there is provided an interconnected maze ofgrooves or passages having outlets in the spaces between the projections58 comprising the aforesaid ridges. In operation, the multiplicity ofprojections 55 and 58 act to work the portion of the dusting cloth 52,with which they are in contactginto the cracks or irregularities of thesurface being cleaned, and the interconnected grooves between them allowdirt to pass into the cloth underneath the tool thereby improving theefficiency of the tool and preventing the dirt from collecting along theedges of the boot 51.

Referirng more particularly to FIGS. 3 and 4, the upwardly extendingportions 61 of the boot 51 continue around the beaded edges 24 of thepan 25 until they are almost in contact with the top of the pan itself,thereby forming a continuous lip 62 which positively engages the bead 24along its length. Also, the lip provides resilient means for engagingthe dusting cloth 52 beaoaases will be described more fully hereinafter,The cloth 52- which may be of woven or nonwoven material, or even paper,is installed on the tool by tilting the rack 43 about its hinge members47, as. shown in FIG. 4, and successively inserting the free: oppositeedges of the cloth 52 underneath the rod 46 which. is at that timetilted up. After the opposite edges of the cloth are inserted in thisway, the rack is adjusted to a level position so that the cloth 52 isyieldably held between the rods 46- and the resilient lip 62 of theboot, as at 64. If a cloth is employed which is longer than the tool,its edges may be gathered somewhat as they are inserted under the rodsas described above to form the cloth into a bag-like enclosure aroundthe tool. In use, the tool flattens the bag as it is pressed against thesurface to be cleaned, holding a portion of the cloth under the tool andin working position. Of course, those portions of the cloth which arenot under the tool, and yet are adjacent its bottom edges and more orless flatly held against the surface to 'be cleaned, also will pick updirt and act as part of the working area of the cloth. The tool and thebag formed by the cloth may be picked up and the tool adjusted against adifferent area of the cloth to provide a different working surface.Thus, several adjacent working surfaces may be provided on one side of aparticular cloth during one installation thereof. Jhen one side of thecloth is considered used or saturated, the cloth may be removed,reversed to expose its relatively clean inner surface, and installed asdescribed above for reuse. The dirt on the other side of the cloth isretained within the loop or bag formed by the cloth.

In FIGS. -7, there is shown a different embodiment of a cleaning toolaccording to this invention, wherein the threading rack and allied partsis removed and the edges of the cloth 52 are tucked underneath theresilient lip 62 of the boot 51. A resilient flange 66 is provided alongthe lower edge of the lip to stiffen the lip and assist in holding thetucked in cloth 52 in place. As shown in FIG. Sat 67, preferably thecorners of the lip 62 are relieved back beyond the flange to facilitateinstallation and removal of the cloth and relieve stresses whichotherwise would concentrate at the corners of the flange or lip. In FIG.14, the tucking of the more or less square dusting cloth 52 under thelip of the resilient boot is illustrated somewhat schematically. Asshown, the tucked in cloth forms a bag-like enclosure 68 around the toolwhich, due to the size of the cloth 52, is considerably larger than thetool itself.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, there is shown a still differentmodification of a cleaning tool according to this invention. In thedevice of these figures, a resilient sill, or ridge member, 71,preferably of a material such as hard rubber, is secured to the top ofthe pan 25 by suitable means, such as cementing or gluing, in closelyspaced relation with the resilient lip 62 formed by the overlappingportions of the boot. The lip 62 is similar to that of FIGS. 5 through7, except that no flange is provided. In operation, the edges of thecloth 52 to be employed may be tucked or inserted between the lip 62 andthe sill 71 where they will be held by virtue of the close spacingbetween these members.

Having now described the invention in specific detail and exemplifiedthe manner in which it may be carried into practice, it will be readilyapparent to those skilled in the art that innumerable variations,applications, modifications, and extensions of the basic principlesinvolved may be made without departing from its spirit and scope. Thus,the fabrics of the present invention may be employed in a host of waysthat will be readily apparent to the skilled artisan. We thereforeintend to be limited only in accordance with the appended patent claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A dusting tool comprising a frame having front and back edges, saidframe having an upwardly extending flange portion continuingsubstantially around its pe riphery and a resilient boot removablyfitted on said frame, said boot being shaped to conform to said frameand having a bottom portion and a turned over edge portion normallyextending upwardly around and downwardly over the flange portion of saidframe, said turned over portion fitting closely over the flange portionof said frame, whereby said boot is held on said frame and the edges ofa flexible cleaning element may be tucked between the downwardlyextending turned over portion of said boot and the flange portion ofsaid frame and resiliently held against displacement therefrom by thefit of said boot on said frame.

2. A dusting tool according to claim 1, wherein the downwardly extendingturned over portion of said boot comprises an inwardly extendingstiffening flange of resilient material.

3. A dusting tool according to claim 1, wherein the boot comprises ayieldable cellular body provided with a relatively abrasion resistantnon-cellular yieldable outer skin.

4. A dusting tool according to claim 1, which further comprises a ridgemember spaced inwardly from the flange portion of said frame andsubstantially concentric therewith, the spacing between said ridgemember and said flange portion being slightly less than the thickness ofsaid turned over portion of said boot when justaposed with the edge of aflexible cleaning element, whereby said cleaning element may be heldagainst displacement therefrom by the resilient fit between said turnedover portion and said ridge portion.

5. A dusting tool comprising a frame having front and back edges saidframe having an upwardly extending flange portion continuingsubstantially around its periphery and a resilient boot removably fittedon the bottom of said frame, said boot being shaped to conform to saidframe and comprising a bottom portion and turned over portions normallyextending upwardly around and downwardly over the flange portion of saidframe and fitting closely over said flange portion, the bottom portionof said boot comprising front and back edges and a multiplicity ofdownwardly extending spaced projections defining a maze ofinterconnected grooves between them, the projections along the front andback edges of said bottom portion being aligned in spaced relation withone another abjacent said edges and surrounded by relieved areas of saidboot communicating with a substantial number of the grooves of saidmaze.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,859,747 Neale May 24, 1932 2,440,014 Ludwick Apr. 20, 1948 2,735,129Lorenz Feb. 21, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 253,436 Switzerland Nov. 1, 1948392,244 Great Britain May 18, 1933 792,496 France Oct. 21, 1935

